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in week one, I met my classmates and listened to others music to know who would be the right person for me to collaborate with and who likes the same genre of music. I looked over the assignment as realised I wanted to do an acoustic version live as it fits well with my genre which is pop and also then a produced demo version with backing vocals and loads of instruments stacked up. I have got some finished and half finished ideas that I started worked on one of them were about how times change and how I want to be fulfilled when im older with the life I am/ have lived. in this session I came up with these lyrics, I wanted the chorus to be very relatable to everyone then the verses more descriptive but still relatable to a lot of people.

Back when I was 17

I felt I was like 23

Sat in denim in the club

Drinking venum from my cup

Back when I turned 18

I realised I like the green

More than the boys in the pub

Cos I didnt wanna fall in love

When I turn 21

I hope drinking still is un

If not lets sit in the sun or go for a run

How times change

We all grow with age

How times change

Wish we could pause with age

When I turn 30 I hope im still flirty with a man that I love

That im not sick off

When I turnn 35 I want to have a child of mine

Of course if the time is right

How times change

We all grow with age

How times change

Wish we could pause with age

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in week 2 I came up with a melody for the lyrics I had written the week before I Also got together with Finn who came up with some chords for me to sing over, this was to help me get a demo idea of how I wanted my song to sound down. the skill sets im going to earn while at waterbear are to record my own demos im also going to earn how to work well collaborating with other artists, im going to get better at playing an instrument and playing live. my lyric writing is going to become more descriptive, the gaps in my knowledge so far are I don't know theory or know how to play an instrument confidently.

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in week 3 I came up with the action plan that im going to get with other artists so I can come up with chords and other instrumental parts over the lyrics I have come up with, I have a slight understanding of what music everyone in my class mates and have worked with various people so know who to work with. im also going to come together with examples of how I want my tracks to sound and have some idea of how instrumentally there songs have been made. meaning it will be easier to make the sound that I would like.
swot analysis
strengths are coming up with a concept then coming up with lyrics, knowing what sound I would like to make, having my own style and knowing who my influences are. I have a quite clear understanding of how the music business works.
weaknesses are not always singing on pitch and not being a confident player when it comes to instruments. I also have very little theory knowledge, which I will work on by watching youtube videos and by learning in my production lessons. the priorities I have to work on first are my pitching as every song needs good pitching and then finishing example tracks good enough to be a demo that I can show other producers so they know what my sound is.

to work on my vocals and pitching I practise to youtube videos such as this one https://youtu.be/1XHXezdnL0A

lyrics:
i’d like to say I have my life together

But I have no money whatsoever

Still living at my parents house

It fills me with so much doubt

the government have put us in a crisis

Cos of the housing prices

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

They say money doesn’t make the world go around

Most things it costs more than a pound

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spendddd

I like to say I’ll get another job

But I’m working around the clock

On my songwriting hoping I’ll have my name in lights

Cos I need something to help me sleep at night

The government have put us in a crisis

Cos of the housing prices

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

They say money doesn’t have the world go round most things it costs more than a pound

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

Cos it’s all about moneyyyyy moneyyyyy yeah it’s all about moneyyyy moneyyyyy

(Rent rent rent rent rent) (over the top)

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

(Agghhh the government)(spoken in the background)

(Drop down)

The government have put us in a crisis

Cos of the housing prices

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

They say money doesn’t have the world go round most things it costs more than a pound

How am I going to pay my rent with no money left to spend

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10 Minute Daily VOCAL WORKOUT! Vocal Exercise (subtitles)

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in week 4 I got with Finn to come up with a guitar part for this song, I found that the guitar part was a little bit too in your face for this genre and the lyrics are the main bit of the song and you need to hear them clearly as they are powerful. I spoke with Finn who then came up with a plucked guitar part that sat well underneath the vocals and didnt take away the meaning of the song. I got inspiration from (everything just wonderful, Allen, 2007). this is because this song still is relatable in 2021 apart from the bit naming some people in charge who are no longer in parliament. I also wanted backing vocals like how Caity baser and lily Allen and also Mae muller use, this reminds me for some reason of my childhood and hearing my sister scream at the tv when someones doing something wrong telling them I also think this creates humour within the song. when playing the song live with the house band I felt that the song was becoming more disco than I had hoped and hadn't flown how I wanted it, I then sat with Amba who helped me find out what the problem was, it was the chorus and how it kinda felt like a verse and the part wasn't very clearly a chorus.

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in week 5 I recorded my track about money and the government so I could get a demo down of how I wanted it to sound acoustically. I then could work on melodies and harmonies and backing vocals easier as I could start to hear how it was sounding when recording this track we used a di cable to record the guitar I then used a rode nt1a mic to record the vocals then an sm8 to record the backing vocals as this mic doesn't pickup as much higher and low end vocals. the rode nt1a is perfect for pop vocals as it has a nice clean sound, as for the guitar if I was to re record the guitar I would of placed a mic at the 12th fret and one at the bottom of the guitar making sure the faze was okay I can top this by measuring in-between the mics to make sure they are same same distance away from each other, I would use the equipment I have so I could take the cap off the sm58 and record that was as its close to an sm57.

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in week 6 I came up with something I could take to the string guys for the week after this I then decided this was the song I wanted to do for the assignment i had a clear idea of how I wanted it to sound in the verse I wanted it to be quite punchy in your face and then the chorus very relaxed and I wanted to create an image in peoples mind of a feather floating away, so with this I came up with the lyrics 'now your gone I feel so much better a weight of a feather' this we learnt in I think week two about creating an image in the listeners mind. where as I wanted a contrasting verse and one that makes you think about whats going on like why doesn't this person make there bed around the singer anymore. I also looked at creative eq examples and the one I found that I liked the most and wanted to incorporate in my music was the eq at the start of (last night, Spraggan, 2011) I had an idea that I wanted it to sound like me on the phone talking to my friends fed up about fake people then when the verse comes in questioning you 'do you know whats in your head' meaning your brain. which I then added backing vocals to to make the song sound sassy.

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my assignment went well as the feedback I got was that the demo sounded to a good quality, and that you could get a feel of where I am going to take it next. when recording it live I found it was hard to direct the band and what I wanted in the song so found that sending stems over would have been better, to get the best quality sound and to get it exactly how I want. my original schedule was to get everything recorded and finished by week 5 but I had struggled with getting the song how I wanted it and didnt have many demo tracks of my sound so found it hard to describe. with this I made sure I booked in with tom to record a guitar part and to program some stuff, the reason I picked to work with tom is he's very easy to work with and knows what sound im looking for we noticed how the guitar and keys were quite dry and how most of the guitar parts where in fact a reggae rhythm guitar part, with this we tom came up with a rhyme reggae guitar part that sounded punchy along with the lyrics. not having much theory knowledge has made me fall behind a little as I have been struggling with coming uo with the right words to describe certain things, but have also found this course very helpful with learning about production as would never have know what creative eq is or how to use reverb or compression so this has helped train my ears to knowing how artists have programmed there tracks.

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this week me and tom got together outside of class to come up with a track that will work well with the vocals I had. I wanted a reggae rhyme guitar part as my favourite artists like Caity Baser and Mae Muller have this. tom played around with some drum loops that would work and we found one we both liked that sounded good, which we used in the verses. I then decided I wanted an organ in the track, this is because we had a week of string players coming in so they could work on our songs. I unforchantly didn't get the chance to work with them as I wanted people who needed them to use the time. I also wanted held keys in the back which I had on another one of my tracks which I think worked really well. for the bridge tom came out with something instrumentally as I hadn't really thought about what I wanted and I came up with the lyrics over the top which sat well with the other vocals, this was also very clearly a bridge. whereas the last song I had the chorus sounded like a double chorus and the sections weren't as clear.

the tempo my song is in is 131 bpm and the chords are C♯M/ G♯M/ Bmaj/ F♯/ F♯M /D/ E/ D♯/ G♯/ DOM7
the key is C♯m

swot analysis
strengths are coming up with a concept then coming up with lyrics, knowing what sound I would like to make, having my own style and knowing who my influences are. I have a quite clear understanding of how the music business works.
weaknesses are not always singing on pitch and not being a confident player when it comes to instruments. I also have very little theory knowledge, which I will work on by watching youtube videos and by learning in my production lessons.  the priorities I have to work on first are my pitching as every song needs good pitching and then finishing example tracks good enough to be a demo that I can show other producers so they know what my sound is.

my target audience is people my age, and like teenagers but I don't a younger audience as I want them to connect with the lyrics and know what im singing about. although funny enough I was listening to lily Allen from around the age of 6.
I will go into schools and use social media to target these listerners.

to work on my vocals and pitching I practise to youtube videos such as this one https://youtu.be/1XHXezdnL0A

LYRICS

DO YOU KNOW WHATS IN YOUR HEAD
I KNOW WHERE YOU LAY YOUR BED AND IT IS NO LONGER AROUND ME
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT MY NAME DONT YOU THINK THATS RATHER LAME HAVENT YOU GOT ANYTHING TO SAY
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT FROM THE START YOU WERE GOING TO BREAK MY HEART I WAS FOOLISH IN THE DARK
WAITED UP LATE HAD A LOT ON MY PLATE FELT I COULD DO WITH MY MATES.

NOW YOUR GONE I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER X2

I LEFT THE REMARKS THAT CAUSED ALL THE SPARKS TO SEND THIS ALL UP IN FLAMES
DO YOU KNOW WHATS IN YOUR HEAD
I KNOW WHERE YOU LAY YOUR BED AND IT IS NO LONGER AROUND ME
YOU CAN TALK ABOUT MY NAME DONT YOU THINK THATS RATHER LAME HAVENT YOU GOT ANYTHING TO SAY
SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT FROM THE START YOU WERE GOING TO BREAK MY HEART I WAS FOOLISH IN THE DARK

NOW YOUR GONE I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER X2

I COULDNT HELP BUT THINK STOP
STOP MESSING AROUND WITH MY BRAIN
THIS GIRLS MAKING ME INSANE
I COULDNT HELP BUT THINK STOP
STOP MESSING AROUND WITH MY BRAIN

NOW YOUR GONE I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER THE WEIGHT OF A FEATHER X2

INTRO IS 8 BARS
VERSE 1 IS 16 BARS
CHORUS IS 8 BARS
VERSE 2 16 IS BARS
CHROUS IS 8 BARS
BRIDGE IS 16 BARS- WHEN LIVE THERES A GUITAR SOLO
CHORUS IS 8 BARS BUT IS DOUBLED IN THE LIVE VERSION.

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(baser,future cut, 2021)
in week 9 I laid down some demo vocals so that I could mix the stems I made with tom the week before, I am happy with how my song writing has improved, with learning new skills like how to record and also mastering working with others and how to get my idea across. once ive mixed my song and re recorded the vocals I sent it off to multiple teachers after finding my ears where tired to get feedback, I then acted on the feedback I had been given which was to turn the keys and organ down in the mix and add some grit to the keys as they sounded too clean for my genre. I also then added backing vocals like the ones shown in Caity Baser music like in this song https://youtu.be/dPr5PrOVfZo this also is where I got the idea of a reggae guitar part. I also looked at some of her other songs and listened to how things where panned, I also looked at lily Allens songs like https://youtu.be/zyx4OMjS2Kg nan your a window shopper to see where she has panned things. I also liked this songs it has a heavy drum beat which I love as bass and drums are what creates movement.

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to get my work finished the action plan im going to take is to listen to each stem prep making sure everything is there and recorded how I wanted. I then will balance the volume of everything and go in an add compression where I need it. I will then work on creative eq to make sure theres no buzzing in the back of the mix. I then will Pan and add reverb and delays to create space and bounce in my track. I then will make sure all the volume is well balanced and then ill go in and change anything I need to and add effects. I then will take my mix to other musicians so I can et some feedback, with the feedback im going to act on whats been said and take my recording to the next level. I will also listen to my track on multiple devices so I know where it sounds the best.

I had given myself a 3day period to mix and master the song as I didn’t want to do it all in one or two days as my ears would have gotten used to how it sounds and then I wouldn’t be able to mix it to where it needs to be as my ears will get tired, this is why I asked people for feedback to improve it further.

I added instruments like organs when I was with Tom who programmed then in, I might go back and at a later date change the instrument to a trumpet as I like the feel and festival vibe that a trumpet gives off. Me working with Tom shows professionalism as we could work well as a team and get down a good sounding demo, this shows that we listened to each other and made sure that the track was going in the right direction, we listened to our track and then people who I’m inspired by to see if it sounds as good.

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after working with tom to get stems down for my song I took the stems and mixed them, before mixing I recorded a demo version of me singing the song so it gave me an ides of what instrument fits in what space, I also panned the instruments so that in the verse they give a kinda call and response feel to them. I also had a think about how I wasn't too sure if I had liked the bridge so I had a guitar solo on the acoustic live version so then I have multiple things too talk about and then I also have other ideas that I can write over or come up with melismas over. it also gives me an idea of how I would perform it an an acoustic set.

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when mixing my song I took the stems that me and tom had worked on at his, I then mixed and panned the stems how I wanted them to sound, I listened to other examples of how my favourite artists panned things, this then gave me an idea of what I could do to my own track. I first prepped the stems making sure everything was in time and there. then I balanced everything out to make sure the volumes weren't over powering. I then added compression and used an eq where it needed it. I then created space by removing some low and high ends and panned and used any delays. I then made sure the volume was all good before adding any effects. after that I just looked over the track to make any final checks before bouncing it to an mp3, I made a couple of versions of the song so I didnt loose any work if I put too many effects on the track and it sounded mushy.

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I need go look at some of my favourite mixes and look at why they are so good and take notes so I can then add it to my mix. in my production lessons I found of what creative eq does which I didn't know before I also know what each effect does which gives me helpful knowledge of what do to with my track to make it sound better. I took inspiration from https://youtu.be/yUCLm412UrQ everything just wonderful to write the lyrics I did about the government and money. I like the bounce this song has and the sass, I also like the fact that she's singing about things people have been to scared to stand up to before. I also like the fact the song has multiple meanings to it without it sounding to hectic. (Allen, 2006)

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https://youtu.be/1Zw1TBOVjNk this is what I used as my creative eq example as I like it how its powerful when the drums came in and how she knocked some of the high end off in her vocals, I think this gives it a really cool sound which I wanted to include in my own music. (spraggan, 2012)

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Lucy Spraggan - Last Night (Beer Fear) (Lyrics)

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strengths: knowing hor to record vocals and now having some understanding of what each effect does when programming. I am alright at coming up with concepts for songs and some melodies. I am confident when using social media and also networking with other musicians which id helpful as I don't have much theory knowledge so prefer to collaborate  with other artists.

weaknesses are: not knowing much theory, or being able to play an instrument confidently to having to lean on others for help. people are also better singings than me as I cant always sing on pitch and I don't always use the correct techniques for singing as I tense up my face and don't always sing using there correct placement.

opportunites: some opportunities ive had to improve some of my gaps are I got to work with MAS records and get some lessons with Kylie mongues producer who has worked with some other big artists. I also got given one to one lessons for singing and songwriting where I tried ironing out some bad habits. In the lockdown I added as many musicians on facebook as possible including people like Anne Maries guitarist and Callum Scotts music director and after speaking to some of them ive been offered to get in the studio and write along side amazing musicians.  im going to get loads of opportunities in waterbear to work with other musicians i have also had the opportunity to be in a music video with them the other week which was fun! im going to meet loads of other musicians who may not write lyrics and might just like the production side so this gives me a great ground to work and collaborate with other working musicians around where I live. I also have to opportunity to record in small pond and use time up there to rehearse, and speak to my teachers who have been working in the industry for a long time, so its been really good to pick there brains. Also being in the waterbear bubble they care about who you work with and check everyone out before you work with them to make sure you are safe and are working with the right people to help move your career forward!

threats: theres other musicians like myself out there who are working with top quality producers who have been in the game a lot longer, emerging talent and how social media is helping more and more artists get somewhere. so getting my head around instagram and tiktoks rules to get my stuff posted up there.having more and more artists post songs every day as more and more are finding it easier to make music and money from home.

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if I was to re do this assignment I would use my time better sticking to timetables as I felt I wasn't sticking to the time and was finding myself stressing out from time to time getting things finished. next time I would stick to just one track instead of jumping around to different tracks as I wasn't sure if I liked it.next time im going to listen to the songs ive grown up listening to and make notes on them so I know what I want in mine next time as I had multiple ideas but when in the studio I felt like I had pressure on me and forgot some of the things I had thought of. I would also try even if its to clap a drum beat but im going to try and make my own beats then ask a drummer to play the beat on a kit, just so this gives it a more live sounding and I can get it sounding exactly how I want as its quite hard using the drummer setting on garage band to get it exactly how you want. im also going to sing melodies that I want instruments to play as I was too scared to sing them incase there wrong meaning I could only explain it, causing my song to not be exactly how I want it. I also will lookout finding other producers who are influenced by the same music as I found that me and tom had different music tastes. The first song I wrote I didnt have an idea of how I was wanting the produced version to sound meaning it was harder for me to come up with ideas where as this idea me and tom got stuff down in less than 3 hours. With this track also tom did most of the production I was there the whole time saying if I liked it or not and if I wanted it on the track and if I wanted it to change slightly I then mixed it to how I wanted it to sound and added the vocals, meaning it was more of a collaboration than solo work. although I came up with the lyrics and the melody and how I wanted the instruments to sit. but I would love to be able to next time program everything myself I have recently two days ago brought myself a midi keyboard which I can then program drums and other instruments in easier. meaning ill have more control over my track. The reason behind picking this track was because we had already started it to get something down for week 7 for when the strings people came in, I had an idea of how I wanted the production to sound and new I could get to together with Tom to put a track down, I also had some lyrics that were repetitive which I then can come back in and change a couple of the lines, where as this might of been harder not knowing where I want to take the song.

gibs reflection

what went well the things that worked were getting the track down with tom this was easy as he would play different Melodies and I would pick which one I preferred and I also explained and showed reference tracks meaning the time we had together was used effectively. As I knew what sound I was looking for and new the structure I wanted it to be, so we first put down the keys how they were played with kieran pepper, we then added drums and then a rhythm guitar to give it a kinda lily allen vibe along with other artists like Lucy Spraggan and Caity Baser. If I was to do this again I would try get my own demo down first then take it to a producers so I have a better understanding of where im taking it, but they way we have worked this time worked really well as we got down a track in a couple of hours, so if I do this more and more my songwriting is going to improve by a lot.

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This is when I first came up with the idea 

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This is when I first came up with the idea 

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This is when I worked with Kieran and he came up with some chords 

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This is when I worked with Kieran and he came up with some chords 

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This is when I worked with Tom and showed him what me and Kieran had put down, he then came up with a hook guitar part to go over the top.

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This is when I worked with Tom and showed him what me and Kieran had put down, he then came up with a hook guitar part to go over the top.

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This is what happened when I took my first song about the money and took it to the band, I then later decided I wasn’t going to do this for the assignment as it needs more work, and wasn’t sitting how I wanted. This was from the last time we played this which was sounding more like a festival song which is what I wanted 

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This is what happened when I took my first song about the money and took it to the band, I then later decided I wasn’t going to do this for the assignment as it needs more work, and wasn’t sitting how I wanted. This was from the last time we played this which was sounding more like a festival song which is what I wanted 

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This is just a video of me practicing my singing and working on my vocals and pitching.

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When me and Finn worked with each other on the song about money

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This is a clip from the second week, the song about how times change

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Although this is an awful video of me singing, you can here us coming up with some ideas of where this songs heading

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This was at toms practicing for the acoustic assignment

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A little snippet of the acoustic version

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every Wednesday I had met with tom to come up with other ideas the reason I picked this day is because we both had it off uni and I work on the weekends so this fits well around our routine meaning were not stressed to fit a practise in.